Microsoft's Windows Home Server (WHS) platform has gotten a
lot of praise from the online community in the past few months. Microsoft
dished out a Release
Candidate version of the software to testers in early June and went gold in mid-July.

Since that time, we've gotten a glimpse at Velocity Micro's entry
into the WHS market. Velocity's Micro's system can be mounted vertically or
horizontally and will feature a Conroe-based
processor. Other features include PCIe-based GbE, 3.0Gbps SATA and an eSATA
port for external storage expansion.

Hewlett-Packard's offering has been shown in pictures ever
since WHS was first announced in January, but specifications and release
details have finally be revealed. According to leaks from online retailers
Amazon.com and PCMall.com, HP's MediaSmart Home Server will begin
shipping on September 15.

The system will be priced at $599 for the EX470
(500GB) and $749 for the EX475
(1TB). The servers are powered by a 1.8GHz AMD Sempron processor and come
equipped with four drive bays for internal storage expansion (one bay is filled
in the 500GB model, two in the 1TB model), four USB 2.0 ports and one eSATA
port for external expansion.

Each measures 5.5" x 9.7" x 5.5" with system
weight coming in a 14.92 pounds.

As we come closer to the official launch of Windows Home
Server, we are sure to see more product leaks and announcement from other key
partners including Fujitsu-Siemens, Gateway, Iomega LaCie and Medion.

"What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders." -- Michael Dell, after being asked what to do with Apple Computer in 1997